An anonymous tipster recently leaked a slew of “details” for the upcoming Zelda game for Nintendo’s Wii U. The tipster claims to work for Nintendo, and sent us a list of news in complete confidentiality. Before reading any further, it’s important to remember that this tipster is anonymous—We cannot trace him nor confirm his validity. In other words, these details are probably completely bogus.

Some of these leaked details line up with the last set of rumors we heard for the next Zelda title, while others send us quickly to skepticism. Nonetheless, it’s interesting to see what they say, and if they turn out to be true, we can always look back and think, “I remember when we thought this was a load of bull.”

1. The game will be revealed in some form at E3 2013. The game most likely won’t be released until early 2014 (it’s still in the early development stages). We may see an eShop demo in late 2013.
Shocking, right? Don’t worry, it gets juicier.

2. The game will feature a different art style than the HD tech demo shown off when the Wii U was unveiled. Early concept artwork looks like they’re sticking with Skyward Sword‘s style for now.
This aligns perfectly with what we’ve heard in the past, but that doesn’t give either assertion any more credibility. If these guys are for real, then it makes sense. If not, this one is probably staying true to few past rumors to give an undeserved air of authority.

3. Nintendo of Japan prefers Skyward Sword‘s motion controls to the GamePad. However, they are aware that some fans still prefer traditional buttons or will want to use the GamePad.
No big surprise here. The important thing to note is that this directly conflicts with the previous tipster’s assertion that Zelda U will feature full GamePad controls throughout the game with new setups unique to each dungeon.

4. Nintendo of Japan was surprised at how well-received the romance was between Link and Zelda in Skyward Sword and intends to flesh it out further for Zelda U. Because this dynamic was favored more in the West than by Japanese audiences, Nintendo of America is looking to popular American romance stories. Names like Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey have popped up in conversation, but the extent to which they will inspire the next Zelda is unknown.

This is where things start to get dicey. First of all, Nintendo would not seek to cater to Western audiences after acknowledging that it may alienate fans in Japan. Not only does this sort of approach go completely against Zelda’s past focus, but Nintendo has always been about satisfying everyone as best as they can—Nintendo as we know it would probably try to pull off a balancing act.

And I think I speak for everyone when I say that I pray to the goddesses Twilight was mentioned sarcastically.

5. Developers are weighing the pros and cons for both full voice acting and whether or not Link will speak.
This is entirely reasonable. Nintendo has come under criticism lately for the direction they’ve taken Link as the series progresses—While he was once a blank avatar character, he has more recently begun to express emotion throughout the stories while remaining a silent protagonist. Some fans claim that this indecisiveness makes him both a terrible avatar and a terrible protagonist, rather than doing either one well.

It would make sense that Nintendo should reconsider this strategy going forward, especially if they hope to regain the strong install base Zelda lost between Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. On the other side of the coin, full voice acting just feels like a natural step for the series, so there’s really very little to question here.

6. A well-known character from a past game is returning in some way. This character may or may not be the in the same role and/or form as they was in the past.
The tipster claims to know who this character is, but says “all hell will break loose if I say who it is.” Again, this is a completely reasonable claim and only makes me wonder if this is true… who could it be? Kaepora Gaebora? Navi? Majora? Midna? Ghirahim? Just about every character in the series has a good shot of making it back—Zelda is all about reinvention. We could write a whole article for each of these selections and plenty of others, explaining why the make perfect sense. So it boils down to opinion: Who are you hopeful for?

There are two big conflicts between this leak and the last major one, further suggesting that neither should be trusted. First of all, the last set of rumors claimed that Zelda U began development in 2010, before Skyward Sword was even completed, whereas this leak claims the game is still early in the development process. Just as important is that this leak claims the development team is still somewhat unsure of the control scheme, while the past leak confidently asserted that the game would feature full GamePad integration.

Ultimately, it’s fun to anticipate, but don’t take any of these details to heart—they’re probably nothing more than speculation.

Sorry, i don't think I can share your same enthusiasm. I remember getting Zelda in 5th grade and was like "Whoa, BEST GAME EVER! And it's GOLD!" It had me riveted for quite some time. Zelda 2 was still cool, different, but still a good combination of action/adventure and a continuation of the original storyline.

Ever since then, it's been downhill for me. Bought LTTP and Ocarina and finished them both. Fast-forward to the Wii, and I bought Twilight Prinicess (due to the price) and Skyward Sword (due to the reviews) only to realize that I don't really care too much for this game anymore. It seems that every new Zelda game brings about the same rehash of the original storyline with no cohesiveness with one another (Ohh, another boy named Link in the same green smock is going to save yet another princess named Zelda in Hyrule again), albeit some variations. With all that said, we'll have to wait and see what Zelda U looks like before even thinking about buying it. But optimism for this series is no longer within me.

But for me, what this game needs is a definite reinvention and/or redefinition. Maybe it was the non-linear openness of the original Zelda that was the difference. LoZ was you-against-the-world, there were no mystical faries or other creatures at you side telling you what to do, no ponies, no soap-opera-esque storyline, an no herding through said storyline. Everything was new and you were free to explore this new game without being "forced" to do things the way the game devs want you to do them. Now, it's all the same. The same characters, the same items, the same story. Just rehashed.

How about making Zelda a playable character? Or an antagonist? Make Gannon the victim (ala Wicked). Make a turn-based RPG out of Zelda? Heck, do *something* different with Zelda. Anything!

*plays a harmonious tune on a tiny recorder and allows a whirlwind to sweep self off of self's soap-box...*

01-03-2013, 06:15 AM

kunparekh18

Quote:

Originally Posted by BabyDaddy

Sorry, i don't think I can share your same enthusiasm. I remember getting Zelda in 5th grade and was like "Whoa, BEST GAME EVER! And it's GOLD!" It had me riveted for quite some time. Zelda 2 was still cool, different, but still a good combination of action/adventure and a continuation of the original storyline.

Ever since then, it's been downhill for me. Bought LTTP and Ocarina and finished them both. Fast-forward to the Wii, and I bought Twilight Prinicess (due to the price) and Skyward Sword (due to the reviews) only to realize that I don't really care too much for this game anymore. It seems that every new Zelda game brings about the same rehash of the original storyline with no cohesiveness with one another (Ohh, another boy named Link in the same green smock is going to save yet another princess named Zelda in Hyrule again), albeit some variations. With all that said, we'll have to wait and see what Zelda U looks like before even thinking about buying it. But optimism for this series is no longer within me.

But for me, what this game needs is a definite reinvention and/or redefinition. Maybe it was the non-linear openness of the original Zelda that was the difference. LoZ was you-against-the-world, there were no mystical faries or other creatures at you side telling you what to do, no ponies, no soap-opera-esque storyline, an no herding through said storyline. Everything was new and you were free to explore this new game without being "forced" to do things the way the game devs want you to do them. Now, it's all the same. The same characters, the same items, the same story. Just rehashed.

I think that is the case with alot of those games that were originally released on the NES console, and I have simular sentiments for metroid as well.

without all the magic of high-tech graphics, they really had to work hard at being creative with their gameplay and storylines. Nowadays they have games in which the characters look almost like actual humans, so they can just slap them into any scenario and it will sell.

01-03-2013, 08:10 AM

BabyDaddy

Quote:

Originally Posted by oddgriffin

I think that is the case with alot of those games that were originally released on the NES console, and I have simular sentiments for metroid as well.

without all the magic of high-tech graphics, they really had to work hard at being creative with their gameplay and storylines. Nowadays they have games in which the characters look almost like actual humans, so they can just slap them into any scenario and it will sell.

Oh, I take it you've played Other M? ;-)

In all seriousness, though, I hear what you're saying. I think the problem is that with us old folk, 8-bit graphics WERE high-tech to us (remember Adventure, anyone?), so it was the best of both worlds; high-tech *and* creativity!

Yeah I was 18 or 19 years old before I ever got my hands on a nintendo, and we had to rent the system from a local video store rental place. I grew up with atari and intellivision and I remember Adventure very well. My aunt had the Atari at the time and wouldn't let us kids play it for very long, but I loved playing it lol

01-03-2013, 03:55 PM

bmarlo

@BabyDaddy, and Kunpa. You both have very valid points. (I lol'd at the link facepalm lol)
The latest Zelda release, Skyward Sword, only sold 3.6 million copies world wide.
In comparison to twilight princess, which sold 6.72 million, it's a sizeable decline.

So, I think many people probably share your sentiments. But then there are people who
are just big fans of the Zelda franchise, and no matter how disappointing the last installment
was to the majority, will always purchase the latest release.

I guess I fall into that category lol. And for me, the same goes for Star Wars. I'm an absolute
Star Wars tragic. And it doesn't matter how much George Lucas has disappointed the masses
with the prequel movies, I will always love Star Wars lol. :)

01-03-2013, 04:04 PM

SNES_Master

I've actually enjoyed most every Zelda game so far, not necessarily for the story (I'm pretty sure Zelda isn't being kidnapped, she's just trying to get away a from Link...he's way to clingy lol) but the gameplay, IMO, stands strong. From the original NES Zelda to the Wind Waker for GameCube I've liked just about all of them. Now the Wii ones are a different story. Everyone I know raves about how great TP was but I honestly got bored after 20min and found myself wishing I could use the GC controller. SS I haven't played long enough to judge but I did enjoy it much more than TP and thought the motion controls weren't so clunky and awkward that I wanted to use a GC remote instead, no as a matter of fact the controls for SS felt rather natural and I didn't mind swinging my arms like a crazy person lol.

But anyway, my point is I'm cautiously optimistic about Zelda Wii U. I haven't truly enjoyed a Zelda game since Wind Waker so I'm hoping they can re-spark my interest in the series.

01-06-2013, 06:51 AM

rajwii64

You might never know Nintendo might not put zelda in the game like Major's mask. But I doubt it just a thought :P